File photo of a woman walking past a screen (right) showing the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond in Tokyo, Japan. (EPA Images pic)BENGALURU: Japanese investors sold foreign bonds for a fourth straight week through Oct 10, extending a retreat from overseas debt that has pushed this year’s net sales to the highest since 2022, though the pace of selling has slowed.

Japan’s big life insurers have stayed largely on the sidelines of the selling of a net 339.7 billion yen (US$2.15 billion) of foreign long-term bonds.

The modest amount is broadly in line with the previous week's revised 345.7 billion yen and well below the 1.9 trillion yen sold in the week to Sept 19, finance ministry data show.